Ethernet is a local-area network architecture that was developed in the late 1970s for use in offices, e.g., to interconnect computers to each other and to a common printer. In recent years, companies have begun to develop ways to expand Ethernet principles to wide area networks, e.g., using Internet routers that are interconnected in various ways. The result has been the creation of switched metro Ethernet data networks.
In an effort to market switched metro Ethernet services, service providers can offer varying levels of service for different prices. Moreover, a service can be considered a high level service and may be offered at a premium price if it has certain characteristics that are beneficial to customers. For example, a service provider may offer a service in which data is delivered at a relatively high packet delivery rate. Further, a service level agreement between a service provider and a customer may state that the data will be delivered at or above a particular packet delivery rate and the customer will pay a particular fee for that promised packet delivery rate. However, it can be difficult to provide an indication to a customer that the service they are receiving is meeting the level agreed to in the service level agreement.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for collecting and presenting service level agreement metrics in a switched metro Ethernet network.